Members of an Ohio church that has been shut down by its diocese amid an ongoing abuse investigation have called on their bishop to reopen the sanctuary.

Grace Episcopal Church, a congregation located in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, was closed last week by order of Bishop Kristin Uffelman White of the Diocese of Southern Ohio.

Members of Grace Episcopal sent a letter to White days later, reported the Cincinnati-based WCPO 9 News, with them expressing "deep displeasure and astonishment toward your actions."

Continued below.

I am interested to know what kinds of dishes you guys will be having?

My menu tends to gravitate towards Southern US but I wouldn't mind a change?

This year, I was thinking of trying Old- Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting and Sage and Brown Butter Biscuits?

I usually make pumpkin and pecan pie but some of the older people (who are not American) have grumbled about pumpkin

The archtypical Pharisee is everywhere around us. It’s interesting that Christ did spend a good part of his ministry exposing these people, explaining their doom. And just like Abraham said, if they do not believe the words of Moses, neither will they believe if one rises from the dead.

They’re good at trying one’s patience and faith. Is that the only reason why they’re here?

I’ve been working on a literal translation and grammatical analysis of Daniel 9:24–27, and I believe the prophecy is intentionally structured with two 70-week cycles:

1. First 70 weeks — Ancient fulfillment (457 BC decree → Messiah → 70 AD destruction)


2. Second 70 weeks — Modern fulfillment (1542 Suleiman’s wall rebuilding → 1967 Jerusalem return → final 7-year week)



I’m particularly focused on Daniel 9:25, where the Hebrew reads:

> שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם (shishim u-shenayim) — literally “sixty and two”



Traditional translations render this simply as “sixty-two weeks,” but I interpret it as “second sixty”, marking the first 60 weeks of the second 70-week cycle. My reasoning:

Inversion/wordplay: Verse 25 inverts the normal order compared to verse 26, highlighting a purposeful sequence rather than a simple count.

Cardinal-as-ordinal usage: Hebrew routinely uses cardinal numbers to indicate sequence. Examples include:

Exodus 40:2 — “in the second month” uses the cardinal word for two to indicate sequence.

Daniel 7:25 — “years” (cardinal) used sequentially for prophetic timing.


Contextual necessity: This block must be distinguished from the first 70-week cycle to align with historical events (Suleiman 1542 → Jerusalem 1967).



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My Interlinear Translation (simplified)

HebrewEnglish

עַל־ נֶחְתַּךְ שִׁבְעִים שָׁבֻעִיםThere are divided out 70 weeks
לְכַלֵּא חַטָּאתfor the restraining of lawlessness
וּלְחָתֵםwhich is marked for the coming punishment
חָזוֹן וּלְחָתֵם עֹלָמִים צֶדֶקfor the sealing of the vision and the age of righteousness
נָגִיד וּמָשִׁיחַ לִירוּשָׁלִם שָׁבוּעִים שִׁבְעָהfor a ruler and an anointed one for Jerusalem; it shall take seven weeks to build
וְתָשׁוּב בַּשְּׁנַיִם שִׁשִּׁיםand it shall be returned at the second sixty


(Remaining verses continue with the first 70 and second 70-week timeline, including v.26–27.)


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Dual 70-Week Timeline

CycleWeekEvents / Fulfillment

First 70 7 weeks (49 yrs)457 BC decree → completion of Jerusalem wall (Nehemiah)
First 70 62 weeks408 BC → Messiah arrival (~26–33 AD)
First 70 1 weekMessiah ministry, covenant people cut off → Temple destroyed 70 AD
Second 70 60 weeks1542 Suleiman rebuilds Jerusalem walls → 1967 Israel returns Jerusalem
Second 70 1 week + ½~2025–2032 final tribulation / Day of the Lord
Second 70 remaining ½ weekAbomination removed, age of righteousness begins



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Argument for “Second Sixty”

1. Hebrew שְׁנַיִם (“two”) functions as ordinal in context — sequence rather than pure quantity.


2. Chiastic structure (v.25 inverted vs. v.26 normal) highlights the dual-cycle reading.


3. Historical alignment supports a second prophetic block distinct from the first.


4. Restraining of lawlessness (v.24) corresponds with the final week revelation in 2 Thessalonians.




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Question for Scholars / Linguists

Given the Hebrew construction, the chiastic inversion, and historical alignment:

1. Is translating שְׁנַיִם as “second sixty” contextually and grammatically defensible?


2. Are there other examples in Scripture where cardinal numbers function as ordinals in prophecy?


3. Does this dual-70-week chiastic reading hold up under textual and grammatical scrutiny, or are there constraints I may be overlooking?



I’ve tried to base this entirely on Hebrew grammar, syntax, and historical alignment rather than prior interpretive traditions. I’d appreciate insights from those familiar with biblical Hebrew, Danielic prophecy, or prophetic numerology.


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Do you remember the story in Luke 7:36-50 of the sinful woman who entered the Pharisee’s house who, standing behind Jesus, at his feet, weeping, began to wet his feet with her tears and with her hair, kissing his feet and anointing them with perfume? And do you recall the Pharisee’s response? He said to himself, “If this man” (meaning Jesus) “were a prophet he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” And do you recall Jesus’ response to him?


Now once upon a time there was a girl named Sue. She believed in Jesus as her Lord and Savior at age 7, and she committed herself to following the Lord the rest of her life. She was not perfect, and she made mistakes along the way, sometimes, but she loved Jesus, and her desire was to live for him and to obey him. But she kept coming up against Pharisees who did not and who would not see her through the eyes of the Lord. They did not value her as Jesus did, but they treated her much like this Pharisee treated this woman in this story. So she kept being rejected over and over again.

The hits just kept coming, one after another after another. Sometimes she felt like she was a basketball being slam dunked into a basket over again, and sometimes she felt like she was in the water with people continually pushing her head under the water trying to drown her. And as soon as she came up for air there was someone there trying to drown her again. And one day she finally crashed and she became the person that they treated her as though she was, and she was not the person she once was. But then God brought her back, and he forgave her, and later on he called her to ministry.

For he had a plan for her life from even before she was formed in the womb of her mother. He had a calling and a mission for her. And he allowed her to go through a life of persecution, abuse, mistreatment, and rejection, all to prepare her for the time when he intended to use her for his glory to reach the people of the world with the truth of the gospel of our salvation. And he planned to use her in ways, perhaps, that normally would be what God would call men to do, but who did not and who would not answer his call as she did. So he had her ready to go to fill that void that needed to be filled.

So, he called her to write down what he was teaching her each day from her times spent with him in the Word of God, and she was to place these writings on the internet so that “a herald could run with it.” 21 years ago she began that ministry to which God called her. And she has been faithful to that call ever since then, no matter how many persecutions or rejections or mistreatments she faced, and even through sicknesses and oppositions of many kinds, because God was her strength, and she depended on him, because she loved him, and she wanted to obey him, and she loved people.

And, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, thousands of people (perhaps millions) have been reached with the truth of God’s Word, and with the truth of the gospel of our salvation, in over 100 different countries throughout the world over the course of the past 21 years because a despised and rejected woman who was nothing of value to the Pharisees of this world (including within the church) had the courage to step out in faith, and against all odds obey God’s voice and let herself be used of God to reach the world for Jesus Christ.

So, don’t let the opinions or the mistreatments of other people or their devaluing of you and their criticisms of you stop you from obeying the Lord in being who he has called you to be. For if God can use a donkey to get his message across to someone, he can certainly use us women, even if men or other women devalue us and disregard our worth in the eyes of the Lord. For in our present age, sadly there are many men who are spiritually AWOL and who are not willing to answer the call of God, and so God is calling women to fill their shoes and to do for him what the men did not and would not do.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

A Believer’s Prayer

An Original Work / July 31, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray
To be Yours, and Yours always.
Lead me in Your truth today.
May I love You, and obey.
Lead me in Your righteousness.
When I sin, may I confess;
Bow before You when I pray;
Live for You and You always.

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.
Life with You will never end.
You are with me through each day,
Giving love and peace always.
You will ne’er abandon me.
From my sin You set me free.
You died on that cruel tree,
So I’d live eternally.

Soon You’re coming back for me;
From this world to set me free;
Live with You eternally.
Oh, what joy that brings to me.
I will walk with You in white;
A pure bride, I’ve been made right
By the blood of Jesus Christ;
Pardoned by His sacrifice.

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Called of God to Ministry
An Original Work / November 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Judge appears skeptical of Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as interim US attorney​

At a James Comey / Leticia Jame motion hearing at federal court today, the Judge in anticipating of receiving the Grand Jury transcript that Lindsey Halligan neglected to provide the first time it was requested, came up at today's motion. The Judge noted despite the second request the transcript is still not there. In response the DOJ with Halilgan at the helm responded, one doesn't exist. And the reason why it didn't exist was because there was no court reporter there. I kid you not. In their motion defense the DOJ lawyer argued that DOJ Pam Bondi had reviewed the transcript in a signed statement.



I mean either someone or all of them are lying to the judge. Under any other presidency or congress these folks would have been hauled into congress to answer questions of incompetancy and/or fired. But this is the Trump admin where incompetance takes a back seat to loyalty.

California plans to revoke 17,000 commercial driver's licenses given to immigrants after discovering the expiration dates went past when the drivers were legally allowed to be in the U.S., state officials said Wednesday.

The announcement follows harsh criticism from the Trump administration about California and other states granting licenses to people in the country illegally. The issue was thrust into the public's consciousness in August, when a tractor-trailer driver not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people.

The head of Tehran’s Regional Water Company said that water levels had fallen 43% from last year, leaving the Amir Kabir Dam at just 8% of capacity.​

Iran is grappling with its worst water crisis in decades, with officials warning that Tehran, a city of more than 10 million, may soon be uninhabitable if the drought gripping the country continues.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has cautioned that if rainfall does not arrive by December, the government must start rationing water in Tehran.

"Even if we do ration and it still does not rain, then we will have no water at all. They (citizens) have to evacuate Tehran," Pezeshkian said on November 6.


If I was a Christian in Iran, I'd leave. That sounds like judgement does it not?

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ national anti-poverty program has provided over three-quarters of a million dollars over the course of 20 years to an organization that advocates for sex-change surgeries, abortion and same-sex marriage, according to a report.

In its November report, the Lepanto Institute warned that the USCCB’s program, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, has provided 16 grants totaling $760,000 to the United Workers Association since 2004.

UWA, which has advocated for sex-change surgeries and abortion to be covered through Medicare, also received a $25,000 grant for the 2024-2025 CCHD funding year, according to the Lepanto Institute’s report.

“Given what we are about to present, it is abundantly clear that UWA is solidly pro-LGBT — even to the point of advocating for publicly-funded sex-change surgeries — and it is currently operating through two proxy organizations of its own creation that are openly promoting abortion, birth control, funding for Planned Parenthood, and LGBT ideologies, including the public-funding of sex-change operations,” the report stated.

The Lepanto Institute has called for the "complete and permanent closure of the CCHD," citing the program's alleged "failure to protect Catholic funds and refusal to recognize and acknowledge gross violations of Catholic moral and social teaching."

Continued below.

Will they be able to re-land the space craft? Will they show up SpaceX? Twenty minutes away!

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I’m willing to bet that either you’ve struggled with significant depression or you love someone who has. The new millennium has seen a surge in depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation across the West.

Between 2015 and 2023 in the United States, the proportion of adults diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives went up by almost 10 percentage points to 29%. In the same period, the proportion of people who have been or are currently being treated for depression went up by 7 points to 17.8%. We’ve removed much of the shame and stigma once associated with mental health struggles. But we haven’t succeeded in reducing the struggles. Instead, they’ve spread like an oil spill, entrapping more and more of us like seagulls with our wings weighed down.

This mental health disaster has hit women hardest. We see ourselves as living in the most pro-woman culture in all human history. Yet women in our culture are increasingly unhappy. Thirty-seven percent of women now report being diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives, compared with 20% of men. The mental health crisis has also been particularly hard on younger people. In 2023, 27.3 percent of girls and 9.4 percent of boys ages 12 to 17 reported experiencing a major depressive episodein the past year, more than double the rates in 2004. Likewise, between 2009 and 2021, the share of American high school students who said they had “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 percent to 44 percent. Tragically, between 2007 and 2021, the suicide rate among ten-to-twenty-four-year-olds also increased by 62 percent.

Continued below.

Good day all. Long time Christian and a well-established author for fiction and technology (you can find my stuff on Amazon and at my blog https://RodsFictionBooks.com) but with everything going on in the world, feel I need to refocus my experiences on more important matters. I have recently turned my focus on devotionals for personal, small group, and church use with topics I believe are timely. Each book has its own free Resource Kit and the ability for everyone to directly improve it.

Happy to share they are available on Amazon and the Resource Kit is housed on GitHub (can't take the geek out of me completely, lol)

Divine Design Devotionals: Amazon.com

Resource Kits: GitHub - rod-trent/DivineDesign: This is the repository for the electronic resource kits for Rod Trent's non-fiction, faith-based work

Bishops: "We Need to Confiscate Any and All Weapons of Private Devotion"​

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) just met for their annual conferencesynodal encounter (somehow letting Bishop Strickland in!) and elected a new president, Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley.

But rather than allowing synodal engagement with the concerns raised by Bishop Strickland about recent actions of Fr. Martin James to continue, the assembly decided that other, more urgent matters, needed to be addressed and, in a gesture of harsh, but synodal, synodality, told him that they thought the ways of the spirit required that they no longer engage in their synodal encounter of listening to him. (TRANSLATION from the Synodalish: They ignored him.)

“The Catholic Church in the United States,” Bishop William W. Walker of West Palm Beach warned the assembly, “faces the grave danger of people not actively participating in the singing after Holy Communion. In my diocese alone, we’ve caught 165 instances in just the last month of people failing to sing ‘All Are Welcome’ and ‘We Remember’ and instead praying on these old-fashioned devices called ‘rosaries.’ We need to find a way to stop this. Beautiful performances of these classic hymns are being wrecked by people praying silently, while the clowns and LGBTQY+$67#!@|\?/ activists feel uncomfortable with people praying in that way in church.”

Continued below.

People use this phrase a lot when there are arguments but for the most part, it looks like people are using it incorrectly, so I thought I'd start off this discussion by expounding on what is, and isn't "dividing the body of Christ".

1. First, let's define the word "dividing".
Dividing means to separate. I mean, that's as plain as it can get lol. If you divide an apple in half, you are cutting into two pieces. It is no longer whole, it is divided.

2. Now, what is the body of Christ?
It's a metaphor used by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 to describe the Church as a whole. All believers in Jesus, united under one head of leadership. We can get more nuanced with this but let's just leave it as, anyone who follows Christ in faith. So regardless of denomination, race, or background.

3. Dividing the Body of Christ
So instead of unity (one body) all following Christ, you have division. Examples of this are:

• A) Breaking unity over non-essentials like: "I follow Paul" or "I follow Apollos" (1 Corinthians 3:4).
• B) Promoting False Doctrine (Galatians 5:7-10, Romans 16:17, 1 Corinthians 1:10)
• Gossip or slander (Proverbs 6:16-19, Proverbs 16:28, 2 Corinthians 12:20) But there is a difference between "quarreling" and debate. The motive for quarreling is often pride (James 4:1) and can be over arguments that are "foolish" in nature (Titus 3:9) because the outcome ruins "good hearers" (2 Timothy 2:14 and 2 Timothy 2:23). The Motive for a debate is restoration by correction which can have a fruitful outcome when someone is corrected.

4. So if promoting false doctrine is considered dividing the body, what is NOT dividing the body?

Rebuke: Correcting a person in error by holding them accountable, correcting behavior and correcting scripture. (Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:3, 2 Timothy 4:2, 1 Timothy 5:20, Titus 1:13)

If someone is preaching something false, that's already divided, but debating someone or even getting into a heated debate, isn't dividing, it's actually an attempt at becoming whole again where both people can agree. THAT is unity. So I think people need to be careful that just because 2 people are having an argument/debate, doesn't necessarily mean division, when scripturally speaking its a step towards unity (depending on context of course).

Denominations are already scripturally divided and we should duke it out more often so we can come together in unity of belief instead of attempting to pacify the debate with a chastisement of "dividing the body of Christ" which is only preventing us from actually being whole and keeping us divided with "you interpret it this way, I interpret it this way" and leaving it in that divided state. That's not helping, thats encouraging continued true division.

So within this context, can we stop throwing that phrase around and continue debating so we can become a unified front instead of a fractured one?

Now, within that spirit, feel free to debate me.

In some progressive circles of Christianity in the United States, the term "Kin-dom" has become increasingly used in recent decades as another name for "Kingdom," as in "God's Kin-dom" or "the Kin-dom of Jesus."

At the United Methodist Church General Conference held last year, for example, openly lesbian Bishop Karen Oliveto preached a sermon to delegates that referenced the phrase.

In an article published last month, Presbyterian News Service, the news outlet of the Presbyterian Church (USA), quoted a pastor who spoke of "standing on the kin-dom side of history."

But where does the term come from, and why was it created?

The first confirmed use of the term came from Catholic modernist theologian Ada Maria Isasi Diaz, a theological liberal who spoke of the concept in a 1996 book titled Mujerista Theology: A Theology for the Twenty-first Century.

The phrase has gained popularity among those who seek what they believe is a less patriarchal or imperial description of the Kingdom of God.

Continued below.

A bombshell revelation has reignited questions about Donald Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein — and this time, the timeline lands squarely in Trump’s first year as president.


According to newly released emails from Epstein’s estate, the disgraced financier told a friend he spent Thanksgiving 2017 with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago — Trump’s first Thanksgiving in office. The detail comes from a new batch of documents made public by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, followed by the release of 20,000 additional records by their Republican counterparts.

President Donald Trump prompted backlash among his political base this week for a recent interview during which he claimed the U.S. needs the H-1B visa system because the country lacks "certain talents" for some industries.

During an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham that aired Monday night, Trump pushed back when Ingraham was critical of H-1B visas, which provide temporary work permits for specialty occupations such as tech and engineering.

In response to Ingraham arguing that such visas flood the market and suppress U.S. wages, Trump said, "Well, I agree, but you also do have to bring in talent."

When Ingraham insisted the U.S. has "plenty of talented people here," Trump said, "No, you don't. No, you don't have certain talents, and people have to learn."

Continued below.

"Please pray for Christians in Syria, after threatening messages were left at two churches, heightening fear amongst believers." - link - Threatening messages left at two churches in Syria

Please pray that if it is God's will my pain will go away and there is nothing seriously wrong. Please ask God to cure my digestive system and other issues. Also please pray for the health and happiness for my son Jakeb and husband robb. I ask in the name of Jesus and thank you so much. God bless you. Carmen.

All of us who believe in Jesus are His congregation. Therefore, all of us who live in the same city and believe in Jesus are His congregation in our home city. This applies in every city. It has been so from the very beginning of the congregation.

At the time the Bible was written, there were among others the congregation of such cities as
– Jerusalem (Acts 8:1, 11:22),
– Antioch (Acts 13:1),
– Cenchrea (Romans 16:1),
– Philippi (Philippians 4:15),
– Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:2),
– Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:1),
– Babylon (1 Peter 5:13),
– Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Revelation 1:11).

Jesus Himself established the congregation through His death and resurrection in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. From there it began to spread throughout the whole world (Matthew 28:19). This same congregation has also spread to Finland(where I live).

We do not think that any person who believes in Jesus and has been baptized in His name belongs to a different congregation than we do (Galatians 5:20). The Bible clearly testifies that there cannot be many congregations in one city (1 Corinthians 1:2 & 2 Corinthians 1:1; Revelation 1:11; 1 Corinthians 1:11–13; 3:4–11). “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.” (Titus 1:5, KJV).
We may indeed gather in many different places, but these places are not congregations—the congregation is us (Acts 1:12; 12:12; 19:9; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2). God sees in every city only two groups of people: the members of His congregation and the ungodly. Therefore, we do not exclude any person who believes in Jesus from being a member of this congregation.

The congregation to which we belong is God’s. Therefore, it is right to call it the Congregation of God (1 Corinthians 1:2; 10:32; 11:16; 11:22; 15:9; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 2:14; 1 Timothy 3:15). God has the sole right to the name and the membership record of His congregation (Colossians 3:17; Luke 10:20; 2 Samuel 24:1–10). We do not divide God’s congregation by calling its members into a fellowship under some man-made name or by keeping a separate membership record of its members (1 Corinthians 1:11–13; 3:4–11).

God Himself adds people to His congregation, as He has done from the beginning:
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
[…] Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. […] And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. […] Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:38, 41, 42, 47, KJV).

We have all become Christians and been added by God into the membership of the congregation according to this original Gospel as revealed in the Bible—that is, after having repented AND, having come to faith and having been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth” (1 Corinthians 1:2), meaning the people living in the city of Corinth who believed in Jesus and were baptized in His name: “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” (1 Corinthians 12:27, KJV). Therefore, it is Biblical to say to those who live in the same city, believe in Jesus, and are baptized in His name that you are the Congregation of God in your home city, the body of Christ, and each of you is one of His members. This is the Biblical form of congregation membership.

Therefore, if you are a Christian in the sense that the Bible gives to that name, then you are already a member of this congregation. We warmly welcome you into the fellowship of this, your own congregation (Hebrews 10:25). Our task is to help others also to become Christians in this Biblical way, and thus to become members of the congregation and be baptized.
Jesus prays for His own congregation “that they may be made perfect in one” (John 17:23, KJV). It is God’s will that His congregation be restored in each city according to the original and Biblical order revealed in Scripture.

There is no teaching in the Bible that different denominations and churches should be established. Although there are members of God’s congregation within them, none of them is the Congregation of God. God has not founded any of them. To them applies the teaching of Jesus: “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” (Matthew 15:13, KJV). Yet the perfect unity for which Jesus prayed will not be fulfilled by trying to uproot denominations and churches from the world. They will always exist among us in this world. True unity becomes visible only when we root them out from within ourselves.

Therefore, we do not build fellowship across denominational and church boundaries, but without them. We are not to be Lutherans, Catholics, Orthodox, Adventists, Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostals, or any other kind of “-ist” or “-ian.” None of these existed when the congregation was founded. It is God’s will that we be simply Christians, in the same way as those whom He, from the beginning, had added to His congregation.

We build congregational fellowship in our home city according to this God-given way described above, not according to human ways. Thus the true Biblical order begins to prevail visibly within the congregation (Colossians 2:5). For the building up of congregational fellowship, God sets in our midst ministries (Titus 1:5; Ephesians 4:11–15). God blesses the tasks of Christians, equips them for His work, and grants them spiritual growth through the congregation (Acts 13:1–4; 2 Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25; 1 Corinthians 3:6–11). Therefore, one must be in congregational fellowship so that all this may happen in God’s way. This congregation remains united, in fellowship, and in the apostles’ doctrine (Acts 2:42; Colossians 2:19).

Blessings to you, Christian, who desire to hold fast to this Biblical congregational order and begin to gather accordingly! Jesus will guide you in all things.

“For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9, KJV)

Blessings,
Weijo Lindroos, from the Turku Congregation
Maariankatu 2
20100 Turku
Finland
Email: weijo.lindroos@pp.inet.fi

I have been going through some trials and tribulations for the past two months, particularly having to do with shooting chest pains, labored breathing, and chest pressure, which have not let up. I also have a lung mass which has nearly doubled in size from the last time it was checked 9 years ago, and which is concerning for cancer. So the Lord has been taking me through a series of medical tests to help determine the source of the pain, and that has involved many doctor visits to many different doctors.

Now, this is not the norm for me. Generally speaking, I have a yearly well visit with my primary doctor where he checks to see how I am doing, and he orders some blood work, which usually ends up with no issues. And then I don’t see him again for another year, unless I have any issues. So, all this is out of the norm for me. And I am seeing different doctors with varying opinions of what could be going wrong with my body. So, with everything they tell me, I take it to the Lord in prayer, and I seek his counsel.

For it is of critical importance to me that I am in the center of God’s will, doing what he has for me to do, and that I am being led by the Spirit, and not by the flesh. So I pray about every visit and every recommendation in order to make certain that I am on the right course that God has for me at this time. Yes, I believe in healing, and God has healed me numerous times over the years. But he also promises us that we will go through trials and tribulations to test our faith in order that we might be more like him.

So, when I read this passage of Scripture this morning, it really jumped out at me. God is in control! He is completely sovereign over my life, and Jesus Christ is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the one directing all that is going on in my life right now, and for his purposes, and for his glory, to continue the process of sanctification in my life. None of this happened without his knowledge and without his consent. And all of this is for my ultimate good. And it is his love and grace which are sustaining me.

And this last phrase is also standing out to me here.. “so that he himself will come to have first place in everything.” For no matter how long any of us have been Christians and followers of Jesus Christ, we are still clay in the hands of the Potter God, being molded to his likeness, as we cooperate fully with his work of grace in our lives in changing us to be more like him. No matter how closely we have walked with Jesus, there is still room for more growth, and more change, and even greater submission to our Lord’s will.

Not one of us has arrived at the point to where there is no more need to be pruned by God. For we live in flesh bodies. We are still human beings who are in the process of being perfected by God as we submit to his will and purpose for our lives. There is always room for improvement and for the cutting away of more flesh. For this is the process of sanctification in our lives, which is also the process of our salvation. And this process will continue through our lives until Jesus takes us home to be with him in glory.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

But just because we are in the process of sanctification, and not one of us has yet arrived at the point of absolute perfection, this is never an excuse for any of us to live in willful, defiant, deliberate, and habitual sin against our Lord. For our salvation from sin is not freedom to keep sinning without feeling guilty, assuming that God’s grace covers it all. For Jesus Christ died and rose to deliver us out of our slavery to sin so we will now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands. So let him rule your life.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Walk With Me

By Al Langdon and P.J. Zondervan

Walk with me, walk with me,
Lest mine eyes no longer see
All the glory, all the story of Your love;
Talk to me, talk to me,
Like You spoke so tenderly,
When You talked there,
When You walked there by the sea.

Talk to me, talk to me,
Lest mine ears no longer hear
All the wonder, all the beauty of Your grace;
Walk with me, walk with me,
As You walked so lovingly,
When You walked there,
When You talked there by the sea.

Let me follow in the footsteps
That trod the shore of Galilee,
Let me learn to pray like He did
In the Garden of Gethsemane;
Take my hand, take my hand,
Teach me Lord to understand,
All the duty, all the beauty of Your love.

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So Jesus Christ Has First Place
An Original Work / November 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“I found the Ark of the Covenant in my heart, stored there by the one who created me … exactly as I am," Benitez wrote

Gio Benitez/Instagram Tommy DiDario (left) and Gio Benitez (right) face two priests during the confirmation mass.© Gio Benitez/Instagram

NEED TO KNOW​

• Gio Benitez, an openly gay ABC News anchor, joined a Catholic church in New York City and celebrated his confirmation mass on social media
• He said that the special moment was partly inspired by learning more about the late Pope Francis's "legacy of inclusivity"
• Benitez's husband, Tommy DiDario, served as his sponsor

Gio Benitez, an ABC News anchor who is openly gay, joined a Catholic church in New York City and reaffirmed his faith after a long spiritual journey.

On Monday, Nov. 10, the Good Morning America co-anchor shared a moving video of his confirmation mass at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in Manhattan with his husband, Tommy DiDario, serving as his sponsor — a special moment partly inspired by the late Pope Francis’ “legacy of inclusivity.”

Continued below.

Looking to get a little more insight from multiple people from multiple backgrounds on this. Thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

-When you first became a Christian, what did you expect life in the church to be like?

-What were your hopes or assumptions about how things would go?

-What was your first experience with the church community?

-Did those expectations match reality, or were there surprises?

-How do you feel now about your place in the church?